Stay on target

Ten years ago the world of Star Wars changed forever with the debut of The Clone Wars. The first proper ongoing Star Wars TV show, it filled in much of the prequels’ timeline and introduced memorable new characters like Ahsoka Tano and Cad Bane while fleshing out the arcs of existing characters like Anakin Skywalker and Darth Maul. To celebrate a decade of Clone Wars, a special anniversary panel was held at San Diego Comic-Con full of retrospectives, candid stories from the cast and crew, and even a special announcement or two. Showrunner Dave Filoni was joined by producer Athena Portillo, composer Kevin Kiner, voice actress Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka), and Anakin voice actor Matt Lanter. It was moderated by Amy Ratcliffe.

The panel began with a video displaying footage from the Clone Wars movie and some of the show’s earliest episodes. Filoni explained that it was the first footage ever shown of the world his crew had built. George Lucas found out they didn’t have plans to show anything at Star Wars Celebration that year and encouraged them to reconsider so the crew cut the footage in a weekend.

The audience was also shown concept art of the original Clone Wars team, which looked to bear more resemblance to what became the cast of Star Wars Rebels. Lucas saw the designs and demanded that Anakin, Obi-Wan, and company be included.

This led to a discussion about the team that put together the show, from Filoni himself to CGCG, the animation studio in Taipei that handled animation duties for a good portion of the show. Filoni stated that, “There were no unimportant jobs on The Clone Wars. Everyone was vital to what we were doing.”

The Clone Wars was anchored over its run by a passionate fanbase, which Filoni addressed. Any show with a big fanbase is going to have its fair share of detractors and criticisms on the internet. Filoni talked about how it’s hard for him to pay attention to the reactions and critiques of fans on the internet because by the time the episodes air, so much of the show is already done. He can’t do much about it at that point and therefore has to trust his instincts.

One of the more interesting tidbits to come from the panel was something the crew says George Lucas stressed regarding one of the central themes of the show. Lucas stressed that the ongoing character struggles should be rooted in selflessness versus selfishness. That is, to him, the inherent struggle of the Force.

After a eulogy of Ian Abercrombie, who voiced Palpatine until his passing, the subject of Season 5 came up. Apparently when the team crafted the break between Ahsoka and Anakin they didn’t know the show wouldn’t be coming back. The crew proceeded to heap praise upon Dave Filoni, who claimed that everything he knows about storytelling he learned from George Lucas.

Leading up to its close, a great deal of art was displayed. The crew talked about the

Finally, the subject of #SaveTheCloneWars came up. It proved a perfect segue into a nice surprise, that being the news that the show will be returning for a new season! 12 new episodes will be available on Disney’s streaming network at an undetermined date. Featuring the tagline, “A war left unfinished…until now.” it looks like the season will feature not only the reunion of Anakin and Ahsoka but also the much-anticipated Siege of Mandalore, certain to be an all-time great Star Wars story. We’ll have details as they come, but for now, the trailer has been made available online. Not nearly enough JarJar for our liking but we’re still pretty stoked.